Fight Club
by That Was Such A Face Palm
Summary: "Here in the Fight Club, there are no rules. You can kill someone even if you had the nerve to, there's no shame but there is honor. People like that kind of stuff, they rather earn praise than to spare the life of someone whose time hasn't come. This is some pretty serious stuff, Annabeth, are you sure you're up for it?" Rated T for profanity, action, and whatnot. Percabeth. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**I wanted to write something that was different. I apologize for OOCness, if you don't like it. . .Don't read it. ****Plus, I have this obsession where I get constant new story ideas, and immediately have to post 'em. I have five more on the waiting list. xD**

**NOTE: My friend told me there was this movie called _Fight Club_. I have never seen the movie. So...Don't accuse me of stealing anything if I don't even know the main character's name! :P**

**ENJOY! :D **

**Disclaimer: Rick ownz all. Sort of.**

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**Percy's P.O.V.**

Percy hauled the straps of his duffle bag onto his shoulder. He tried to ignore the sorrow-filled stares his mother occasionally threw him, whenever she took the slightest of a glance towards him. He was aware of the fact she didn't agree with what he was participating in, most parents would, yet she made no attempt to talk him out of it. She knew her son very well, once he has his mind set and focused on a particular thing, there's no point in stopping him.

Percy sauntered into their small kitchen that could barely fit two people within its space, which was perfect, no one but his mother and him lived in the old beat up apartment. His mother didn't care if it wasn't near spacious, she cared that her child had a roof over his head and was being fed. Percy carefully reached up to the cabinet, that was above his mother's head, and pulled out a set of ACE bandages.

Percy sat on top of the slick, graphite counter and pulled out a roll of bandages. He watched his mother as she washed the dishes, humming to herself an old nursery rhyme she used to sing to Percy when he was only an infant. Percy shakily wrapped his knuckles, and winced when the fabric came on full contact with his skin. After he finished his left hand, he pulsed it to get used to the tightness of the wrap.

"You wouldn't be in pain if you stop what you're doing," his mother reminded him, staring at his left hand then glancing back up at him.

"I know," Percy curtly replied. "You tell me this all the time, you know why I do it and why I won't stop."

His mother let out the water in the sink, then soon positioned herself infront of him. "Yes, I know. I just want to remind you that there's other options that don't involve near death risks. How about a decent job? You can work at that local Albertsons, I heard a new employee is needed," his mother helplessly suggested.

Percy got up from the counter, and looked down at his mother. "You really think that bullshit of a pay is going to help pay for your appointments? Mom, I'm doing just fine right not with where I'm at, and you know it. I love that you care about me, but I also need to care for you too. It's paying for your appointments, we're eating satisifying meals, and we hardly use those stupid food stamps. Isn't that good enough? How about this, when I feel the need to stop, I will," Percy said softly, after seeing faint tears roll off his mother's cheek. Usually Percy expected his mother to reprimand him about his language, but her emotional side sometimes got in the way of it happening.

She gave him a teary smile, but nodded. "You're all I've got in this world, and to lose you is way too much for me to handle."

Percy rarely let his soft side get the best of him, but his mother needed comforting. He slowly walked up to her, and gave her a tight hug. He could feel a certain wetness on his shoulder, so he pulled back and smiled at his mother as he wiped her tears away. He planted a kiss on her hairless head, and went to poach his duffle bag from its place. He shouldered it, while giving his mother a small nod. She nodded back, and handed him another pack of ACE bandages, most likely to put in his bag.

"Who're you fighting against tonight?" his mother asked, while putting the bandages in his bag.

"Hyperion," Percy said, while shrugging even if it was a big deal he didn't want to show his mother his discomfort and unsureness.

His mother's eyes immediately widdened at the name, and she bit the tip of her thumb, out of worry. "Be careful, I don't want to see any burn marks on you."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine, he nearly drowned the last time he tried to burn me."

She didn't look overall convinced but she nodded, whilst quickly kissing his cheek. "Good luck."

Percy smiled tiredly, and squeezed her hand. "Thanks, I'm going to need it."

Percy walked out of the apartment, and lightly closed the door shut. He heaved an immense sigh, and trailed off to his long awaited destination. He tugged on his hoodie, and kept his head down. It was a natural instinct most boys had come accustomed to while living in the neighborhood. Percy didn't want to waste his time fending off a couple of gang memebers, so he followed everyone else's tactic. Keep your hoodie on, keep your head down low, don't make any eye contact, and especially keep your distance. Gang memebers knew better than to mess with him, yet they continued their useless attempts. They had a personal vendetta set specifically for him and only him, they wanted to prove to him that he wasn't as strong as he thought. Which was incorrect, Percy could care less about his strength, all he needed to know was how to defend himself.

Percy walked down the empty sidewalk, and took notice of his surroundings. Most people would have thoughts that an empty sidewalk means that the gang memebers are hiding in the shadows, completely wrong. The memebers made sure you have a clear sight of them, they enjoy watching people run away from them. They think they uphold some sort of power that only inflicts fear into their victims. Most people aren't afraid of them, they just don't feel like getting jumped or mugged. As a whole, they're strong. Seperate them, they're nothing but useless.

Percy heard faint music in the distance, with occasional shouts of victory. He knew he was gaining closer, so he loosened up his posture a bit. He put down his duffle bag, and shrugged off his hoodie. Percy neared an old beat down building, with different varieties of vehicles lined up around it. He pushed opened the double-sided doors, and was instantly greeted by loud cheers. No one noticed him, which he was grateful for that, he didn't want the attention.

Percy looked around at the large crowd that was formed into the shape of a circle, in the middle stood two boys who couldn't be older than fourteen. The age limit for the Fight Club was exactly at fourteen, and ended at the age of twenty-one. Percy was seventeen, and had been fighting since he was twelve, though was let into the club at fourteen.

It's either you knew how to fight, or one of the group memembers would give a word of recommendation in order for someone to join. It may take a while for a newbie to participate, most opponents like to test themselves and fight people bigger than them. Meaning, newbies either fought each other or waited until someone offered to have a quick quarrel with them.

Percy scanned all through the crowd, and noticed a heap of red, stringy hair. _Grover_, Percy thought. He didn't have to push through people, they made way for him. You could say Percy had earned somewhat of a respect. He rarely ever lost a fight, if not he pulled back at the last second and won by a K.O. or tap out. Percy's fights were skillful, and short. He didn't try to show off, or tease his opponent he just wanted to get it over with.

Percy found himself infront of the crowd standing next to Grover, standing shoulder to shoulder. Percy kept his eyes strictly on the fight, but noticed out of the corners of his eyes Grover staring at him in concern. Grover didn't participate in the fights, he was more of a punching bag. He helped the memembers of Percy's group take practice rounds on him. Which Percy found completely and utterly stupid, he gets light headed at receiving just a mere slap.

Percy studied the boys in the circle, one of who was in his group: Nico. There were group fights, where one individual from your group competes with another. And there were lone fights, where you fight against are random or selected opponent and the winner receives a bundle of money, usually ranging between five hundred dollars. Percy usually did lone fights, but when his teammates were having a hard time he agreed to group fights. The money was divided by each individual in the group, the more people you have the less money you get.

Nico tried to get underneath the other boy's defensive guard, but ended up getting himself caught up in a chokehold. Percy smirked lightly at Nico's stupidness, as many times as he has fought the boy he managed to always tap himself out of death. The boy's grip tightened on Nico's neck, causing Nico to weeze, and his face slowly grew a pigment redder. He needed to tap out or he'd get himself killed.

"Gods damnit, Nico, just tap out already!" Percy called out to him, ignoring the protests of disagreement. Percy knew Nico better than anyone else in the club, he always wanted to prove himself, yet couldn't. He wasn't the best fighter, and didn't know how to study his opponents like Percy.

Nico raised a shaky hand, and pounded his fist onto the hard concrete floor. The boy loosened his grip on Nico's neck, then towered over him sending him a malicious grin. Nico only glared at him from his spot, and waited to get up until he caught his breathe. Percy moved forward, Grover on his tail, and picked Nico up by his arms and carried him into the lockeroom.

There Percy was greeted by the rest of his group which consisted of people. The boy's team had around ten boys, including Percy. Beckendorf, Jason, Nico, Frank, Leo, Will, Travis, Connor, and Malcom. The girl's team also consisted of about ten girls. Thalia, Rachel, Piper, Reyna, Hazel, Katie, Bianca, Nyssa, Clarisse, and Silena. Though, Silena didn't really count, she was only a substitution, she spent most of her time drooling over Beckendorf.

Percy layed Nico on the closest bench, and threw his duffle bag to the ground. He crossed his arms over his chest, and only watched as Silena wrap his obviously broken hand. Thalia turned from her spot and sent Percy a taunting smirk. "Hey, Perce, you ready to get your ass whooped?"

Percy only stared at her, he rarely showed his emotions while in the club, but when he did he only did when in the presence of his teammates. "I wouldn't be talking, I saw Zoe working on her uppercuts, they must be getting better because she's _actually_ making the punching bag move."

Thalia's smirk slightly decreased, but she held her ground. "Just don't get burned."

"I'll try not to," Percy promised, while lightly lifting the corner of his lips.

Percy and his teammates joked around, and gave each other tips before their interaction was paused by a grinning Malcom running in. Next him stood a girl who looked almost exactly like him. Even if Percy noticed the resemblance she and Malcom shared, he knew her specifically from somewhere else. Percy took in the appearence of the girl, and it took all his will not to stare at her for an excessive amount of time.

The girl had extremely curly hair that was cut in a 'V' shape down to her mid back, it was a hollow honey blonde color yet it had slight hints of a natural light brown coming from her roots. She was fresh-faced, and had a slightly structured face meaning her cheek bones were a little more visible than usual. Her skin was glowing with a brilliant tan, it wasn't too dark nor was it off-colored. Though, what struck Percy the most were her eyes. Malcom didn't have grey eyes, his eyes were more of a light greyish blue color, rather than the girls full blown steel grey color. It was more of a mixture of different shades of grey but they held a certain brightness. Her thin, yet plump pink lips formed a small smile at the sight of the group infront of her. Percy kne why she was here, and he didn't like the idea of it at all.

"Who is this?" Leo asked, a crazy grin plastered on his face. "Is this our personal cheerleader? 'Cause, baby, I know you can do a lot more than cheering." Leo finished off his offer with a wink, and only received a glare in reply.

Malcom glared at Leo before gesturing towards the girl. "No, Leo, she's not our cheerleader nor do I think she would agree to becoming one, either. This is my cousin, Annabeth."

Reyna had a sour look on her face as she stared at Annabeth. "And why is she here?"

"She's going to be our new coach, and teammate," Malcom announced.

"Who do you think you are to have the sudden right to declare that?" Reyna questioned fiercely.

"We haven't even seen her fight!" Bianca protested.

Rachel looked at Annabeth distatefully. "Does she even know the first thing when it comes to fighting?"

Clarisse snorted. "She doesn't look like she would hurt a fly."

Of course the girls would be the ones to immediately talk down the idea of Annabeth joining.

Annabeth obviously had enough of being talked down so she defended herself. "What makes you think you have the right to judge me? Look at your friend here." Annabeth thrusted her hand out towards Silena. "She worries about her appearence, make-up, and the latest styles yet she's earned her spot on a team. You can tell by just looking at her badazzled sports bra. What makes you think I'm not worthy enough?"

_Typical Annabeth_, Percy thought.

Connor awkwardly coughed, but Percy knew it was a cover up from a laugh that was almost sounded. "She does have a point there."

Clarisse stood up, and slowly stalked towards Annabeth until they were face to face. "You're not worthy enough because you haven't proved yourself. Everyone in this group has proved themselves."

"If I remember correctly, but the rules of the Fight Club state that if someone is recommend or invited by one team memeber then it's an automatic in," Annabeth said matter of factly, while crossing her arms.

"We don't give two craps about the rules, we want someone who can fight and fights well," Clarisse shot back, a growl rolling off her words. Annabeth's eye twitched at her words, but she let out a sickly sweet smile.

"If you wonder why you can't defeat Hylla it's because she notices the limp in your right foot and uses it to her advantage. Hylla can't kick for the life of her, she only uses what she doesn't have against her opponent. If you were smart you would've already noticed that her blocks are weak, and it's quite simple to get underneath her guard rather than throwing sloppy punches. By the way, work on your fakes, they're becoming predictable."

_Hit 'em where they're sore_, Percy thought, _Exactly the Annabeth I remember._

Annabeth gave Clarisse a satisified smirk before stomping out of the locker room. To say the least, she left everyone shocked. But Percy was expecting her to do something like that. Percy was slowly starting to accept Annabeth, if she could notice the most unnoticable things then she would be the perfect coach. He would've never thought of her turning to the Fight Club, but it must've been a pretty important reason as to why.

She had to prove herself, and Percy was going to make sure it happened now. Percy followed her out of the locker room, into the hallway. She abruptly turned around, and stared Percy down. Her lips were set on a firm line, and her arms were still crossed. Annabeth's eyes held no recognition at all, which upset Percy a little.

"What do you want?" Annabeth asked, evident annoyance in her voice.

"What, I can't say "hi" to an old friend?" Percy joked, smiling genuinely at her shocked face.

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**-That Was Such A Face Palm -.\**


	2. Chapter 2

**Guest: Thanks... Just to let you know I'm positive my plotline will be somewhat altered from the one the original book contains. A handful of writers on here _purposely_ copy published books, or movies in a way that fits their plotline. I'm not trying to do that, at all. Sorry if that's how it seems likeeee. ;o**

**ENJOY! ~Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Ownz All, To An Extent.**

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**Annabeth's P.O.V.**

Annabeth couldn't find enough mental capability to comprehend what was infront of her, more like _who_ was infront of her. Not being able to contact, or see someone who meant so much to you can really puncture a sore spot after a long period of time. Annabeth could feel her throat hitching uneasily as she took in the sight of her an old friend.

His appearance differed majorly from the last time Annabeth saw him at only the age of twelve. His hair was still a midnight black shade that hung loosely over his eyes, giving his aspect quite a mysterious vibe which sprouted a round of questions that soared through her mind. He wasn't the same pimple-faced pre-teen Annabeth met, his skin was smooth yet very rugged in a way. There was a light smirk that played off of his lips, as Annabeth stared at him nearly shell-shocked.

She continued to study him, earning a couple of awkward fidgeting from Percy. He wasn't as scrawny and gaunt as he used to be. He was well defined and surely had picked up a couple of more muscles than Annabeth had expected from him. What didn't change about him, which Annabeth found a little soothing, was his eyes. They were still the same captivating sea green eyes, that swirled with emotions, though Annabeth was observant enough to notice the little light that used to shine in his eyes had vanished.

"S-Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth barely managed to ask without stuttering.

Percy responded with his quirky lopsided smile, and leaned agaisnt the nearest wall. "That's me."

Annabeth muttered incoherent words under breathe, until she spoke again. "What happened to you? Why are you here? You know how to fight? Since when did you find the sudden urge to grow taller than me? Are you on _steroids_?" Annabeth couldn't control herself from asking a string load of questions, it came naturally, and Percy knew it.

"Annabeth," Percy said, grasping her attention. "Calm down. I'll answer your questions later, but the real question is why are _you_ here?"

Annabeth arched her eyebrow and smiled at him almost incredulously. "OK, completely ignore my questions, why don't you?"

"Just answer it," Percy said, his face clean of any emotions. When Annabeth frowned at him, his face suddenly softened.

_Weird_, Annabeth thought.

"It's my parents anniversary," Annabeth explained, rubbing her arm uncomfortably.

Percy stared at her in disbelief. "What does that have to do with all of this?" Percy frantically gestured to the area he was standing and everywhere else around him. "Annabeth, your parents may be out but do you really think it's wise of you to do mischevious activities like this? I know you don't get along with them, but this is some pretty serious stuff to get involved with."

"You wouldn't be able to call me "Wise Girl" if I didn't have the proper amount of common sense," Annabeth said rather sharply. "And who're you to talk? Percy, what makes it so wrong for me to do this, but you can?"

"The point is my mother doesn't agree with this, but she allows it. I know your parents won't especially if they find out their deemed valedictorian of a daughter is out joining a fighting club. You can do better than this Annabeth!"

"My parents are _dead_, Percy, today is the anniversary of their death. You really think they would care if they're not even here?" Annabeth asked, attempting to disregard the tears that suddenly felt the need to form.

Now wasn't the time for Annabeth to display her weakness, there were so many possibilities of a nearby eavesdropper listening on into their conversation. The last thing she wanted was to come as vunlerable, and assumed as an easy target. Annabeth figured if she wanted to associate in a fight club she needed to come off as firm, or at least create a personality that screamed: _Don't mess with me!_

Annabeth and Percy stood in an uneasy quietness, until the sound of an uneccesary low chuckle was voiced. Annabeth looked at Percy in confusion, many other could agree that _now_ wasn't the time to randomly chuckle when you're currently trying to get over an emotional announement. Just telling Percy that her parents were dead prodded a sore spot into her heart. She didn't get along with them, and would constantly argue with them over the most idiotic things possible. But, of course, she still loved and cared for them even if it was difficult for her to express it.

There were many ways Annabeth proved that she cared for her parents, and wanted to please them. She would make sure she achieved the highest scores whenever she took a test, and managed to keep her grades up at an A/B average. In a way, Annabeth's academic skills were the only thing that connected her to her parents. Anything not related to the topic of school was automatically thrown out to the trash can, unless it was a discussion of their jobs. There was only one thing Annabeth was sure her parents loved more than her; their jobs.

Percy was staring up at the ceiling with an amused smile written all over his face. "You know, Annabeth, this isn't the way I expected us to reunite. I imagined it would go more. . ." Percy trailed off, probably unable to find the right word.

"Smoothly?" Annabeth suggested, with a light laugh.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "I wouldn't have suspected us to meet somewhere like here."

"Somewhere less brutual, huh?" Annabeth said in a wry tone. "I live with my grandmother, now. Metis. We live in a secluded neighborhood and the rent has been getting a little bumpy. She said it was time for me to go out and experience. What's better experience than getting a job?"

"Technically the Fight Club isn't a job, you get payed for beating people up," Percy somewhat corrected. Annabeth found it a little amusing of how he talked about the club in such a nonchalant manner.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, while nudging Percy very forcefully. "Let me finish, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth walked over to the wall Percy was leaning against, and slid down to the floor. Percy immediately followed her actions, and looked at her questioningly. "I asked Malcom if he could set me up at some local store, but instead he told me about the Fight Club. Well, more like he mentioned it vaguely and I eventually got it out of him. He said it was better pay, and it was dangerous. But you know me, I'm up for any challenge. I've taken a couple of defensive classes in the past, and I've studied fighting a bit relating to weapon and combat fighting. So, I thought. . .Why not? Here I am, only to be rejected."

Percy stared at the wall across from them, while asorbing all the information Annabeth had given him. She knew that Percy already disagreed with they very idea of her joining the Fight Club, but his opinion mattered the most to her. If he felt like she didn't qualify for such activites, who else would consider her? She at least hoped she could make it in as a coach, she knew how to study opponents unlike the fighters. Annabeth was sure the only thing that ran through their minds while fighting were; _Win! Fight! Win!. _If you had a certain tactic you used every fight it would be more obvious to guess as to what would happen next. The people here only knew how to fight, not plan. Well, from the fights Annabeth watched she could only assume that.

"Here in the Fight Club, there are no rules. You can kill someone even if you had the nerve to, there's no shame but there is honor. People like that kind of stuff, they rather earn praise than to spare the life of someone whose time hasn't come. This is some pretty serious stuff, Annabeth, are you sure you're up for it?" Percy asked her after a moment of silence. _**(A/N: Oh, hey! There's the line of the summary! :D Dance party!)**_

Annabeth felt as if it were a silent invitation, yet the warning made it seem very subtle. Malcom definetly hadn't mentioned anything of something as important as _deaths_ occuring. Annabeth was a bit unnerved about knowing that she would be in the same room with people who actually have killed someone. Well, then again it's not entirely their faults. People sign up to do things like that, if they wanted to avoid death they wouldn't have agreed to fighting in the first place.

"It's like you've forgotten me or something," Annabeth teased. "I know what I'm getting myself into, Percy. I wouldn't do something if I thought it were stupid, or way too dangerous for my likings. Thanks for the concern, though."

Percy seemed unconvinced at her words, but nodded. "All right, I just want to make sure you know what challenges you might have to face."

Annabeth cleared her throat after Percy let that sentence awkwardly hang. "Thank you, once again." Annabeth stood up from her spot, Percy doing the same, and turned towards him. "You know what you forgot to give me?"

Percy, being as oblivious as he was shook his head in confusion. "A hug, you idiot!" Annabeth slapped his chest, receiving a satisifying _Oof!_ from Percy.

Percy rubbed his chest with a feign look of hurt on his face. "You could've done that without any abuse."

Annabeth gave him an annoyed smile, and held out her arms. "Just give me a damn hug already."

Percy proceeded to step forward, and embraced Annabeth in a tight, meaningful hug that pretty much only lasted for about five seconds.

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**-That Was Such A Face Palm -.\**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Same__ Guest_: Yay! I know, yet those stories have the tendency to be the most popular. :p**

**_AnnabethandPercyJackson17_: Nope. You'll find out more about that this chapter, or future chapters. **

**_V.I.D Vishii_: Hah, no. I'm not going to rush into their relationship, but there'll be subtle hints of fluff. **

**_Alex Lunaaah_: ;) That's the next chapter. **

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**READ ON! ~**

**Disclaimer: Rick ownz all. **

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**Percy's P.O.V.**

Percy had quite an immense struggle to admit to the fact that he actually _liked_ receiving a hug from Annabeth. Normally, the two would exchange a lousy high-five or some sort of farewell. Though, seeing Annabeth allow and except this exchange of affection threw Percy off the edge. He hadn't recalled Annabeth to be an affectionate person, then again it had been a fairly long time since they've been capable to see each other. The hug only meant that she had missed him, and Percy was allowing it to get way far into his head.

Percy awkwardly teared away from Annabeth when he heard the creak of the door leading into the locker room unlock. Beckendorf's face appeared, and he looked between the two in pure suspicion. _Understandable_, Percy thought. It would be a peculiar scene for one of his teammates to take sight of. Percy rarely exhibited his feelings among others, sometimes he would faintly tease around with them to show them that he's comfortable with them. Though, if there was a time he was absolutely down in an emotional state he tried his best to avoid expressing it.

Beckendorf ungainly cleared his throated, and shuffled from foot to foot. "Uh, Perce, you're match with Hyperion is in about ten minutes. Just wanted to. . .to let you know. Preparation, and whatnot." Percy nodded at Beckendorf that he understood, and Beckendorf nodded back leaving the two alone as they previously were.

Annabeth turned towards Percy, folding her arms across her chest. "So, I guess I get to see you fight."

Percy gave her a contented smile. "Apparently, it was nice seeing you again."

Annabeth frowned at Percy's words, and raised an eyebrow. "You don't plan on seeing me again? And I thought you were the annoying one."

Percy suddenly became flustered, not realizing what he had said then. "No- I, what- What I meant it was nice seeing you after a while. I didn't mean it like that!"

Before Percy could explain himself furthermore Annabeth waved her hand dismissevly, and grinned at him amusedly. "I'm toying with you, Seaweed Brain. Good luck out there, too."

Annabeth gave him a supportive squeeze on the shoulder, before turning towards the opposite end of the hallway that lead into the main arena. Before Annabeth could latch open the door Percy called out to her, "How about after my match, I'll set you up to fight someone to prove yourself? It's the least I could do."

Annabeth turned around, still walking, though she was walking backwards, and whipped out a smile. "Really? You would do that for me?"

"Sure, why not?" Percy asked, while shrugging. "Just meet me in the locker room."

Annabeth smiled at him once again when she finally reached the door. "Thanks a lot, Percy. I would give you a hug but I'm too lazy to walk _all_ the way back over to you." Percy noticed the lightest bit of uneasiness in her voice. She sent him one last wave before continuing to head out the door.

"You only walked ten feet away, another ten wouldn't hurt," Percy muttered to himself as he sauntered back into the locker room, recaping thoughts as to what just occured.

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Percy calmly unwrapped his ACE bandage, propping his left foot on a nearby bench. He mutely sighed as he observed what had been formly a stainless grey color, now into a rusty copper color the bench had become. Percy confessed that if his teammates wouldn't clean their locker room, at least he should put some effort into it. Though, the bench was already gone. No point in saving it, now.

Percy truly wanted ignore Rachel, but she had the potential to qualify as oblivious just as much as he did. When he wanted to be alone, well, there's no other way to put it; he wanted to be alone. No interruptions, no distractions, no additonal obstacles, and definetly no curious stares from a certain redhead who hasn't got the memo yet. Percy clenched, and unclenched his hand, then soon on repeated the process until he felt rather conveniet with his hand.

"Are you nervous?" Rachel asked, sitting on a bench exactly beside Percy.

Percy groaned mentally in his mind, why must she always produce great irritation from him? Percy knew she simply asked a mere question, but when it's recited every single day before one of his matches, it grows overly annoying. Of course he was nervous, he always was somewhat nervous.

"What do you think?" Percy asked gruffly, relocating to where the punching bags were.

He threw a couple of test pucnhes, but didn't go overboard. The last thing he wanted was to wear himself out before a fight, and he needed to keep himself as energized as possible. Talking to Rachel even decreases his energy, he can't waste too much brain cells on her. Percy thought Rachel was gone, but she want right next to him throwing high velocity roundhouse kicks to poor dummy that didn't stand a chance. He was along the lines of being impressed with Rachel's kicks, but it was _Rachel_. Percy wouldn't allow himself to think she was anything but annoying.

"Well," Rachel huffed, "I think you're nervous. Most people would be."

"OK, well, there's your answer then," Percy said, more like snapped, while practicing a spinning back kick on three dummies away from Rachel. A spinning back kick had to be the most effective, and powerful kicks in the sport of kickboxing. It took years to for Percy to perfect his kicks, and now he could say he somewhat mastered them. He had always dismissed that during the spin he needed to keep his knee pointing down, most of the time he would loose his momentum if he didn't. Momentum and timing is the key to conquering the kick, without them you couldn't possibly master it.

Rachel took a temporary pause from her kicks, and tucked a loose strand of her red locks behind her ear. _Nervous_, Percy thought. "Who's the blondie, you didn't mind showing some affection towards her?"

If there's anything in the world Percy detested, it was eavesdroppers. "And you didn't mind eavesdropping, by the looks of it," Percy retorted with a brief snort on the edge of his words.

Percy walked back to the bench he currently had settled on, and swiftly took his shirt off then carelessy placed it in his duffle bag. In the Fight Club it didn't matter what you wore, as long you felt comfortable in the clothes you were in and could fight, there were normally weren't any clothing malfunctions. In Percy's case, he fought shirtless with shorts, no matter the material. Cargo shorts, jean shorts, and majority of the time basketball shorts. He felt more free, and swift without any shoes on so he choose the option of being barefoot. Most guys followed on what with Percy did. So it wasn't necessarily an odd sight to see a bunch of sweaty guys walking around shirtless.

Rachel decided to ultimately ignore Percy's retort, and asked yet another question, "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No," Percy muttered. "Look, I have a match to attend and I really don't want to play twenty-one questions right now. Now, would you excuse me."

Was it just him or did she laugh a bit at him?

Percy pushed past Rachel to the door leading into the arena, and was met with, of course: loud shouts, cheers, and taunts. Percy checked in with the officials, and made his way to his teammates. The first to notice him was Leo, who was grinning at him insanely.

"Yo', Percy! You ready to kick some Titan ass?" Leo shouted. In response from his teammates, they all cheered loudly. Percy gave him a devious smirk, while working his way to them.

"You know I am, Blaze," Percy said, grabbing holding on Leo's hand and proceeding to give him a one-handed arm hug. The rest of his teammates passed around their gestures of good luck, and Percy ignored Rachel before she could do anything to him.

Percy talked with Jason about blocking, when he seized hold of a pair of grey eyes staring at him in uncertainty. Before Percy could say anything to Annabeth, she mouthed "good luck", and vanished through the large crowd. Percy wasn't sure what that had meant. Was she uncertain about proving herself? Was she having after thoughts about joining? Did she think Percy was going to lose? Percy commanded his thoughts to come to a halt as the a loud voice, presumably the announcer, informed everyone that it was time for a match. Specifically his match, against Hyperion.

Percy advanced onwards into the center of the circle, only to be met by the overly bumptious, Hyperion. Majority of the Titans were. Most teams went by names, the Titans, Monsters, Primordials, Gods, and then there was Percy's team; the Demigods. Since the owner of the Fight Club was Greek, he wanted to incoporate that into his club, there were rumors about adding a couple of more teams, though at the rate the teams were going the rumor was quickly shot down.

Percy realized he hadn't really change over the years. The same long, unruly brown hair thrown into a pony tail, a natural smirk written on his lips, and the most noticeable feature of his appearence was his eyes. A literal yellow color, with minor hints of a moss green color. They sparked with danger, excitement, and something else Percy couldn't define. When Hyperion fixated his gaze on Percy his smirk widdened, and he tauntingly began to fissure his knuckles.

Percy remained unfazed by his actions, and merely grinned at him in response. Yes, Hyperion was dreadful when he fought, but his cockiness overran that and replaced it with amusement. Now, instead of truly fighting, Hyperion tried to show-off and pick long fights with Percy. Which Percy wasn't all about. Quick and short. Effective, yet skillful. That's all Percy needed to display to prove that he was a force that should not be tampered with.

The announcer placed the rules out to the crowd, it was a required tradition and Percy knew them all by heart. Percy and Hyperion stepped forward until they were a good three feet away from each other. Hyperion sneered letting a stream of hot breath travel onto Percy's face, making him cringe. It's not like he _purposely_ wanted to smell his breath, but the guy sure could use a breath mint or at least a Tic Tac.

Percy plugged his nose jokingly, only attempting to piss off Hyperion. If anything, most of the Titans had extreme anger issues and all the other teams used that to their advantage, "Damn, dude, ever heard of a toothbrush? Your breath is killing me here."

People nearby heard Percy's comment, and let out a fresh breeze of laughter. Hyperion glared savagely at Percy, yet said nothing. Hyperion wasn't the one with good comebacks, so he didn't risk throwing one out. "You won't be teasing me when I burn you."

The thing about Hyperion and burning people. . .He did it out of result of unreleashed anger. When Percy was fourteen, and Hyperion was sixteen he had dragged Percy behind the club's back entrance, pulled out a lighter, and burned Percy's hand. The reason for the so called punishment was a prank gone wrong from the Stolls, and Percy somehow ended up in the midst of it all.

"Yes, I get- We all get it. You like to burn people, which now makes you a hazard and everyone knows better than to hang out with you. Is there anything else new you'd like to present?" Percy asked, with a brief simper planted on his lips.

People with common sense normally wouldn't rally up their opponent before a fight, they usually fight more firmly when angered. Now, that didn't apply to Hyperion, when he was angry he fought recklessly and without a sense as to when to strike. Just what Percy wanted.

Before Hyperion could retort, the announcer said something that brought Percy into defensive mode_; Go!_

That's how Percy liked it. Percy played defense, while Hyperion brought on a challenging offense. Though, Percy didn't always allow Hyperion to have all the fun. Hyperion backed up a few steps, holding up his fists shifting from foot to foot. Percy stood just as Hyperion, just without any basic footwork. Hyperion lunged at Percy sending a right side kick to his gut, which Percy easlily caught with his hands. He held Hyperion's leg and pushed him forward making sure he heard a satifying smack on the ground. Before Percy could do anything, Hyperion hurriedly got up and made sure to get his revenge by giving Percy a nice hook to his face, causing him to stumble only lightly.

Percy regained his current stance, and smiled at Hyperion, which made him tilt his head in confusion. Hyperion shrugged it off, whilst throwing a jab at Percy. Percy simply cross-countered, and to be fancy, planted a lovely half-swing onto Hyperion's face. Hyperion growled in anger, throwing whatever punches came to him. Jabs, hooks, uppercuts, and barely got off with a short straight-punch. Percy either parried, or cover-uped, mostly parried all of the punches which increased Hyperion's rage.

Percy was having fun, too much fun, and decided it was time to end the fight. He punched at Hyperion repeatedly until he managed to get him on the floor. Hyperion tried to cover his face with his forearms, but Percy found an entrance that wasn't defended and gave a fast bolo punch. What surprised Percy was when Hyperion kicked out his legs beneath him which made Percy tumble to the floor.

Percy pushed himself off the ground just as Hyperion was currently doing. Hyperion noticed a wet substance leaking out of his nose, and growled. Wrong thing to do while fighting. Percy got a hold of Hyperion's shoulders and dispatched a rough rising knee strike. The force of the strike was powerful enough to drop Hyperion. Percy knew holding his shoulders wasn't necessary, it was quite optional, but the impact of it would be greater if so.

Hyperion glared at Percy not making an attempt to throw any futhermore attacks, while casually wiping off his nose with the back of his hand. He knew for a fact that he had lost. The Fight Club rules were considerably strict, and unfair. Actually, partially fair to those who used them to their benefit. If you get dropped, knocked out, or pinned longer than three seconds it was declared an automatic loss. Even if you regain conscious before a three second time period. Each rule differs according to the fighting style you submit to the club. You were offered a free choice of changing your style each week, meaning you'll fight against someone within the same category.

Percy grinned winningly at Hyperion as the announcer cheerily spoke, "And yet another win for Percy Jackson, member of the Demigods!"

* * *

Percy silent closed the door behind him as slipped his check into his pocket. The owner of the club must've been generous that night because he proposed Percy a deal higher than he had expected. Seven hundred dollars. Percy was grateful that the owner was willing enought to spare that much money. The owner was aware of Percy's issues and some times favored him with money. The owner was a woman after all, a woman with a strong good side and a rough bad side.

Percy was too busy running off into his own world to notice that Annabeth was walking beside him. She hadn't even checked to confirm if Percy's team would allow her to fight, but she seemed sure of it. She had changed her attire, and her hair was braided into a french braid carelessly down her back. And Percy could see a light coat of mascara on her eyelashes.

"Oh, no," Percy muttered. "Did you actually become friends with Silena?"

Annabeth snorted. "More like we made a compromise, and this was the end of the deal I had to receive."

"A make-over, and I'm going to take a random guess. . .A bedazzled sports bra was included," Percy said smirking at Annabeth who glared at him, in probable annoyance.

Annabeth zipped down her sweater to reveal a white muscle tank, through the fabric you could see a black bedazzled sports bra, with silver owls scattered around the base color, "She's lucky that I found interest in at least one of her many sports bra."

"Shut up, you know this isn't the last time you're going to wear it." Percy laughed at Annabeth while leaning on the door that lead to their locker room. Annabeth smiled heedless, not saying anything because she knew what Percy said was correct.

Percy glanced down at Annabeth's wrist, that held a tribal themed bracelet on it. "Where'd you get that, I didn't see you wearing it before?"

"Observant," Annabeth said with some impressiveness in her voice, well, that's what Percy thought it was, "Rachel gave it to me, she came to greet me and-"

Percy cut her off. "Wait, Rachel Dare, right? Redhead, freckles, overly annoying?"

"I don't think she's overly annoying, though her sarcasm is beyond measure," Annabeth replied in deep thought.

The Rachel he knew was not sarcastic, not one bit.

"Wait, so she wasn't creepy or annoying?" Percy questioned, growing utterly puzzled.

"No," Annabeth answered, a small frown forming. "Why do you ask?"

"Because she usually follows me around asking annoying questions-"

This time Annabeth was the one to cut Percy off, and her face expressed realization. "You know she does that purposely."

"Why would she possibly do that?" Percy asked in exasperation.

"To break your barrier, Seaweed Brain, open up a little more," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. "I heard you aren't the happiest person here, but at least act like you're a human being and express some feelings!"

"You're one to talk, Miss Prideful," Percy muttered, pushing past Annabeth into the locker room.

* * *

**Eh. Ending was sucky. Whatever. :p Was this a long enough chapter? Hope it was, 'cause I didn't revise it & I am now apologizing for any grammatical errors. I know a little about kickboxing, and am incoporating the little of what I know into the story while researching too. Other fighting techniques also.**

**Leave a lovely review to make me smile. :D I sat here for two hours straight, no restroom, food, or drink breaks. That's a difficult task for me. xD**

**Have an awesome day/night! **

**-That Was Such A Face Palm -.\**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sending out a very familiar amount of thank you's. Y'know, reviewing, following, and favoriting. . .The wholeee deal. ****Sorry I haven't updated in forever. Excuses are lame, yet I use 'em every day. What can I say? **

** SCHOOL IS OFFICIALLY OUT FOR ME! Now, more laboring cheer practices/camps, and preparing my body for track. Yay. :/ Basically, for the months of July and August I won't be able to update as often (not that I do that, anyway) but I'll try! :D **

**ENJOY & READ ON! ~**

**Disclaimer: Rick ownz all. **

* * *

**Annabeth's P.O.V.**

"Why do you guys practice here if your team has their very own locker room, essentials needed already in place?" Annabeth inquired as she watched the majority of the group of fighters, specifically the boys with additional assistance from Clarisse, battle to force open the non-cooperative door of a beat down building.

Annabeth directed the question towards the remaining girls since Percy had left to verify if the back door was unlocked, and underneath all the swears, and grunting coming from the boys and Clarisse she knew she would be unheard. The only thing ringing through their ears would definitely be inaudible babbling.

Reyna, who was currently beside Annabeth, curled her thin lips in pure distaste almost instantly as soon as Annabeth concluded speaking. Annabeth truly didn't know what Reyna's problem was, she could apprehend the fact that she may not like her because there was a distinct possibility that she'd become a new addition to the team. Who knew? Annabeth had encounters with various people who weren't comfortable with new people joining their group, which Annabeth found completely absurd, but she knew there were reasons explaining it.

Annabeth narrowed down the possibilites of replications* that could explain why people were like that. Maybe rotten, unforgetful experiences were cued at the thought of someone new associating with their group, and they hadn't established enough strength to trust someone new. Then, there was always a cluster of judgemental people who only had the talent of judging others, not really giving them a chance to express who they were as a person. Annabeth had experienced it all, and she couldn't exactly pinpoint which reason suited Reyna.

On the opposite side of Reyna, Thalia rolled her exclusive electric blue eyes in what Annabeth could only detect as disappointment. Thalia was someone Annabeth would imagine herself hanging out with. Even from a simple exchange with Thalia, Annabeth could determine many of her qualities that she found recognizable. Thalia could be assumed as a strong, brave, yet very caring girl. Annabeth noticed she had a temper which could be easily triggered (after the Stoll brothers "accidentally" tripped over nothing but air, while holding burritos, and it somewhat _magically_ landed on Thalia's favorite Greenday shirt), and she knew Thalia wasn't someone she wanted to be against. Annabeth found brief similarities, which she hated to admit, in being thoroughly stubborn, and prideful. Thalia and her could be the best of friends, or only cause certain mishaps when their similarities clashed.

Thalia eyed Reyna before pulling Annabeth off to the side. As they reached the spot Thalia dragged Annabeth to, they tried to helplessly look inconspicuous as Reyna threw each of them a suspectful glance, that deepened into a glare. Thalia smirked at Reyna sweetly, as Reyna turned away a brief amount of mistrust buried securely in her eyes, and proceeded to then on conversate with Hazel. Annabeth stood awkwardly as she waited for Thalia to began speaking, but she only stood there looking at Annabeth questioningly.

"What?" Annabeth finally asked, after an excessive period of waiting for either of them to start a conversation.

"What's going on with you and Percy?" Thalia asked, a weird spark vibrating off her unreadable eyes.

"Nothing," Annabeth told her slowly, absolutely clueless as to why she would assume something along the lines of that. "Why would you ask that in the first place?"

Thalia's neutral face ascended into a sly grin, her eyes twinkling with mischief, "Percy rarely talks to people, it's been that way for a while, now. If you're close to him, he has no problem with having a head-budding conversation with you. If you're new, he makes no attempts to talk to you much less become acquainted. Now, was that a better explaination, or is my "vague" question that confusing, 'cause you seem like a smart enough girl to figure that out?"

Annabeth's face expressed momentary realization, that dropped back into a frown, "No, no. Percy and I are only friends. Best friends. Well, at least we used to be, but once a best friend always a best friend, right?"

Thalia had a sour look on her face, and she nodded somewhat unconsciously, presumably deep in thought. "Yeah, unless they've become a back stabbing bitch whose only intentions were to inflict emotional and physical pain onto you. Then, yeah, _of course_ I'd still consider them my best friend," Thalia mused with thick sarcasm, adding a necessary snort.

Annabeth smiled wryly at Thalia, and shook her head a tad amused, "Aren't you a bag of skittles, eh?"

Thalia looked at her, unamused, a slightly peculiar expression plastered from every edge of her face, "You know, I just love being compared to skittles. It makes me feel. . ._awesome_."

Annabeth chuckled, "It should be. Now, is there a reason why you dragged me off to the side or are we going to have a twenty-one questions session?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, but nodded, "Yeah, well, it's more about Rachel rather than Reyna. But I guess I'll explain to you about Reyna first, it's sort of mandatory you know because you're obviously going to be hanging out with Percy more than anyone else here."

All right. Annabeth could already sense the topic about Reyna would be heavily focused on Percy, too. Though, she didn't understand what Thalia had to discuss about Rachel. Rachel was someone Annabeth usually would stay clear of, due to her constant thickly stringed sarcastic remarks. But overall, she had an infectious aura that drew people to her. Annabeth admitted one look at her appearence sort of deemed her as a crazy, but you never would discover the truth about that person until you got to know more about them. _The things judging could do to you_, Annabeth chided herself.

"Rachel?" Annabeth asked her, a bit miffed about what Thalia had to say about Rachel. "Wait, why Rachel?"

"Yes, Rachel," Thalia told Annabeth, pronouncing Rachel's name slowly as if letting the words inculate themselves into Annabeth's brain. "You're going to fight her."

"_What_?!" Annabeth shrieked, not meaning to, though she honestly didn't know what triggered her bewilderment.

That remark cued a couple of curious glances from the girls, while the boys and Clarisse weren't fazed by it, at all. Thalia raised an eyebrow at me, skeptically, before continuing to annotate everything for Annabeth, "I'm going to point out a few flaws about her, and whatnot. I know you want this badly, just as badly as I want that cheese enchilada Grover's stuffing his mouth with," Thalia said wistfully, gesturing to Grover, who was presently stuffing his mouth hurriedly while shouting encouragements to the hussling group. "But, hey, we can't get everything we want, can we?"

Annabeth sighed, she really didn't want to turn near this alternative, "Thalia, I think it's nice that you want to help me but I want to do this on my own."

Thalia grinned impishly, "Hah, well, you don't have much of an option. I _need_ you to be on this team. You'd be the replacement Silena. She's our substitution, but she rarely does anything when she has to fight."

"Well, if you count cowering in fear, then I'd count that at least as fighting," an unfamiliar voice pitched in to the conversation,

"di Angelo," Thalia breathed in what Annabeth thought was easement, while clutching where her heart would be located. "Stop doing that, or I swear I'll backhand you into next Thursday!"

The boy, di Angelo, shrugged heedlessly taking his time to eye Annabeth attentively before turning back to Thalia, "It's not my fault you were blocking my sunlight!"

Thalia glowered, "You're as white a paper! Why does it matter to you? Not even a thousand of spray tans could cure your paleness! Not to mention, it's just about dark outside as it'll get." As she spoke, crazy arm gestures were cued and Annabeth, for a eerie second, thought she was seriously going to do some damage to di Angelo's face as Thalia inched, unknowingly, closer.

"Thalia," Annabeth said sharply, "Calm down, you sound like my yaya whenever her coupons expire, and that's saying something."

Both Thalia, and di Angelo paused their prospective bantering session to look at Annabeth in confusion, or was it recognition?

"Yaya?" di Angelo asked waveringly.

"Nico, my boy, I believe we have a fellow Greek," Thalia announced somewhat proudly, digging her elbow into di Angelo's ribs. At the time, Annabeth ignored that because she was launched into another frenzy of confusion.

"Nico?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes?" di Angelo answered, a discreetful look on his face.

"I thought your name was di Angelo," Annabeth explained, looking a bit embarassed.

Nico looked at her, then at Thalia with an annoyed glare, "See what calling people by their surnames does?! It causes unwanted confusion."

Thalia snorted, and pitched Annabeth a very pointed look with a mixture of disbelief, "Annabeth, c'mon, think this through; who on Earth would name their kid "di Angelo" in the first place?"

Nico tensed, a look of advocacy coursing through is deep eyes, "Sexy people!" Nico's strong hold lessened when Annabeth began laughing at him, and Thalia threatened him a malicious sneer added, which sent him scampering away. Thalia rubbed her temples, mumbling predictable cuss words that even Annabeth had the decency not to use.

"Anyway, back to our conversation. About Rachel. Well, let's see, she's very vulnerable. Meaning a mere punch could bruise her quickly, which increases the list of her injuries. The more of an impact you create while attacking her, the more her defense dies down. On offense, she's more in control but her main advantage is kicking. When I tell you this girl can kick, I mean it," Thalia told Annabeth, absent-mindedly rubbing her stomach.

"What about her punches?" Annabeth asked, unexpectedly interested. She didn't want to do this, but Thalia had her hooked.

"Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy," Thalia sighed, evident disappointment coming from her tone. "I would compare her to Reyna, but her punches are a disappointment. She wins her fights by kicking the crap out of people. I mean, look at those calves!"

Annabeth looked to see an irritated Rachel walking over to the group of boys and Clarisse. Each step she took, her calves involuntarily flexed while a deep amount of muscle was displayed. Rachel shouted something at them, possibly move, and sent a clean side kick into the door making it open almost automatically. As the door swung open, it revealed Percy who was holding up his hands in surprise surrender. A loose pair of keys dangled from his wrist, and a man, Annabeth really couldn't get a clear view of from the distance, in a wheelchair rolled up next him.

Thalia motioned for Annabeth to follow her as the group of fighters assembled infront of Percy and the man. Though, everyone's attention was directed towards the man.

"Chiron," Thalia said. "I told them it was useless to attempt to open the door since you've installed a new lock."

The boys raised their eyebrows at Thalia, while Clarisse spoke up, "Oh, shut up! You most certainly did not say that."

The obviously made Thalia angry, because she stepped towards Clarisse her fists balled, ready to swing. "I most certainly did. If you weren't spending your time flirting with Chris while the guys were getting started on opening the door maybe you would've heard because I was standing directly beside you!"

Percy released a strangled coughed, his eyes twinkling with laughter, and Annabeth gave him a sideways glance. He usually would already be laughing by now, but his face remained somewhat straight. Percy met Annabeth's eyes briefly, and he turned away. Annabeth was going to talk to him after this.

The Stolls were laughing loudly, and Leo was jeering at Clarisse but stopped short when she threatened to knock him out. Poor Chris suffered from a terrible blush that stained it's way to consuming more than half of his face.

The man, Chiron, raised his hand for silence and everyone immediately obliged, "I apologize for the inconvenience I've put you all through. I recently have been receiving unrequested visitors at night, and I wanted to extend the security of the building. My nephew, Jake, has-"

Rachel gasped louder than necessary, "Jake. . .from _State Farm_?"

A few people chuckled at her, while Chiron sat (it's not like he could stand) there patiently, speaking in a warning tone, "Rachel."

Rachel's cheeks flushed, "Uh. I'm sorry, I just had to. You know, comic relief of the moment? No? All right. Since everyone is staring at me now, I guess I'll just. . .shut up." After she awkwardly stepped back into her previous spot, Chiron began to speak again not before sending Rachel an amused smile.

"As I previously was saying. My nephew, Jake, not from State Farm," Chiron adressed Rachel before proceeding to continue, making her flush again, "Installed locks from the inside, rather the outside. Also, there are cameras set up around the corners of the building, as well as inside. Just to notify you briefly of everything, and I was told we have a new member of the team, is that so?"

Thalia pushed Annabeth forward, but before Chiron could take notice of her, Reyna took the opportunity to speak up, "Chiron. She isn't officially apart of the team, she's going to fight to prove her worth."

Chiron raised an eyebrow at her words, "Why is that? You did not have to fight for your worth."

"Yes, I know," Reyna said, stumbling over her words. "Malcolm announced that she would be our coach, and many of us have objected to that. It's a reasonable thing to be tested, I mean, we have to see if she has some skills, of course."

Last time Annabeth checked it was three girls, ignoring Rachel's fake get-up.

A girl, Annabeth was slowly processing everyone's names and appearences, by the name of Katie stepped forward and frowned at Reyna, "Chiron, I believe she's already proved her worth. She easily pin-pointed some of Clarisse's flaws, just from watching one match. And Clarisse is one of our top fighters."

Malcolm also took the time to step forward and speak, "And you know me, Chiron. I don't allow my decisions become belittled nor do I make rash ones."

Chiron's eyebrows both lifted up in surprise, "Am I going to get a chance to meet this girl or are we going to proceed on conversating about her as our topic while in her presence?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, and nudged Annabeth forward, again. "Uh. Er, hello?" Annabeth said unsurely, grasping his attention, while slowly straightening. "I'm Annabeth Chase." She held at her hand to shake, and Chiron firmly accepted it, analyzing her vaguely with just one glance.

"Relative of Malcolm's, I'm assuming?" Chiron asked Annabeth. She nodded. "Are you sure this isn't only because of favoritism, Malcolm?"

"Of course not, sir," Malcolm said, "She's a good fighter, and she needs this."

"All right," Chiron said. "My curosity is getting the better of me, and I would like to see what skills you possess, if you don't mind Miss Chase?"

"Oh, I'm fine with that," Annabeth quickly said. "I understand everyone's uneasiness."

Chiron smiled, "Let the fighting begin."

* * *

Annabeth would say she was taking the fight serious, but Rachel was making it quite a difficulty due to her sudden complaints. Before Percy could tell them to commence fighting, Rachel always interrupted, more like prevented it from occuring. Which was fine by Annabeth, as long as she was prepared, she had nothing to worry about other than there was high possibility that she would loose.

"Wait, why do I have to fight her?" Rachel asked, again.

Percy's eye twitched in irritation, and he tensed slightly, "Dunno. If I knew, don't you think I would have told you already?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders, "OK, let's do this!" Rachel nodded her at Annabeth as a gesture of good luck and began some basic footwork, probably to get herself readied when she began to fight, it evidently was something quite simple for her to coordinate.

Annabeth held her fists at either side of her face, watching Rachel's feet carefully, noticing her right foot scuffing against the floor of the gym more lightly than her left. Annabeth forced herself to look at Rachel, who seemed to be watching Annabeth, a tad perplexed. Annabeth realized she wasn't in a starting position so she quickly changed that, disregarding the urge to bang Clarisse's face into the wall as she snorted at her, and said something like, _'Remember hair pulling isn't fighting'_.

"All right," Percy said softly, his eyes flickering towards her direction momentarily, "I hope you know what you're doing."

Annabeth smiled wryly, "Why would you ever doubt me?"

"Because I don't want to see you get hurt," Percy whispered, then spoke up to announce the fight was starting, "You guys know what to do. Well, Annabeth I'm sure you already know since you're you and all." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"You both ready?" Percy adressed Rachel and herself. They both nodded, not taking their eyes off of each other.

"All right then, _FIGHT_!" Percy shouted, hurriedly stepping off the mat.

Rachel's happy-go-lucky (somewhat) demeanor almost immediately dropped as she narrowed her eyes as Annabeth. Annabeth didn't have to worry about narrowing her eyes, because they were currently narrowed as soon as the word _fight_ slipped through Percy's lips.

It was forseen that Rachel would activate the fight with a firm kick, and that's exactly what she did. Annabeth already saw it coming, and hastily ducked as the high velocity kick swooped scarcely over her head. Annabeth had enough time to somersault to the side of Rachel, giving her enough space to do damage as Rachel turned to face Annabeth. Annabeth was in, what she would consider, a Spiderman pose and she flawlessly kicked her left leg from underneath her, wincing measurably as the sound of Rachel's back slapping against the mat, which she imagined wasn't all that luxurious.

Thalia's words about Rachel were completely accurate, from the sudden impact to the ground Rachel was breathing lightly, struggling to regain a steady breath. Annabeth took this as an opportunity to send a decent bolo punch to Rachel's face, before Annabeth could present another punch, Rachel flipped their positions. She attempted a right hook to Annabeth's jaw, and Annabeth instantly defended herself. Holding her forearms infront of her face as Rachel began to swing, and throw various types of punches trying to get under Annabeth's guard, to no avail.

Annabeth had enough, Rachel had her pinned and she started debating on whether on not what she was about to do would make a collision onto Rachel, at all. She decided to risk it, so she brought up a striving knee bringing it back onto Rachel's stomach. Rachel dramatically rolled off of Annabeth, clutching her stomach, as Annabeth caught a hold of her breath meeting Rachel as they both stood up on their feet.

Rachel titled her head at Annabeth, her eerie green eyes shone in disbelief and a subtlely of respect. Rachel wiped her lip, which was gradually beginning to bleed, and started another round of basic footwork. From there on the fight sort of recaped itself, instead of ducking Annabeth sensed the kick and caught it inbetween the intersections of her forearms. Gripping Rachel's leg tightly, as she hassled to get out of Annabeth's vice-like grip.

Annabeth distanced herself, just to a small extent, bringing up her right knee and letting it impale itself into Rachel's stomach. In result, Rachel fell back to the floor, groans coming from her stiffly set mouth, as she rolled around on the mat holding her stomach, muttering gruesomely. Annabeth knew she had to finish her off, even if she didn't want to accept that she had to, so she took a step forward but was stopped by a smirking Percy gripping her wrist.

"That's enough, you don't want to do anymore damage, do you?" Percy said, his voice dripping with skeptic impressiveness.

Annabeth was aware of the blush that crept onto her cheeks, as she weakly nodded. Percy turned towards the group of fighters that each held a different expression. He pulled Annabeth to the front, and questioned them, "Well? Did she prove her worth? If not, I don't know what worth is, if she can catch one of our best kickers kick and many of you can't. . .Then what else can she do to prove it to you?"

Annabeth looked over to Chiron who was studying her, and he nodded at her. Maybe she was hallucinating but she thought she was approval course through that nod. Chiron wheeled himself to the front, next to Percy, and spoke, "Well, Demigods, it is your decision to establish if Miss Chase here is worthy or not. Any selective input?"

A girl, who Annabeth recognized as Nyssa spoke, "Even if that was the shortest fight in history, I'd say she's got some skill running up her sleeves. If you guys disagree, it'll only be our lost. Who knows what she could do when she's at her full potential?"

"What is your point?" Reyna questioned, directing a glare at Nyssa who glared back uncertainly, "It was of mere luck. We all know Rachel isn't the best at taking blows, this was a granted in for her. She hardly put up a fight, and it would be reasonable for her to fight someone who will actually put up a decent challenge."

Beside Reyna, a boy with familiar blue eyes looked at her with a questioning glance, "Are you implying that she should fight you, Reyna?"

"No, Jason, the point I'm trying to get across is-"

"That you don't like Annabeth, and obviously don't want her on the team?" Thalia suggested rather bluntly, carelessly picking at her nails not even bothering to glance at Reyna.

"Tell me, Thalia, when did those words ever come out of my mouth?" Reyna retorted, seemingly ready to pounce on Thalia by now.

"They didn't, but by your confident attmepts to not grant Annabeth on the team, I think I have every right to assume so," Thalia said, her voice becoming sickingly edgy.

"Stop assuming, because your assumptions are invalid," Reyna told her, a sneer rolling off her words.

"You know what, you bi-"

Bianca interrupted their quarreling by conducting her attention onto Annabeth, "At first I didn't really like you, for some strange reason. Sorry, for coming off as a bit rude."

"It's honestly all good." Annabeth confirmed that it was all right by smiling at her, which she rebounded gratefully.

"Just by this fight, I can tell that you would be a great addition to the team, no matter what anyone else thinks," Bianca concluded, eyeing Reyna cautiously.

Annabeth had took a guess that they were considerably good friends as a look of betrayal flashed through Reyna's eyes. She huffed, and Annabeth saw that there was a possibility that Clarisse sensed that Reyna was tired of trying so she saw this as an opening to give her thoughts, "I'm agreeing with Reyna. Chiron, since you're our mentor isn't there anything _you'd_ like to say? I mean, this is being blown out of proportion!"

"Indeed it is," Chiron agreed with Clarisse, and for a second Annabeth grew scared, "Though, I believe the correct way of saying it is you're blowing this out of proportion. Hazel, young she is and not a tad of experience yet you had no objections to her joining the team. Annabeth, experienced to an extent and holds professions in strategizing. Do you realize how ridiculous you're coming off as, right now? Since none of you cannot come up with a concrete decision, I'll make it for you." At the mentions of Hazel, said girl blushed as everyone gave her an unconscious glance.

"But, Chiron-" Clarisse helplessly tried to object, but Thalia was nowhere close to being irritated. It was far from that.

"Just shut up, already! You're being a huge bitch, more than you are on a daily basis," Thalia groaned, her tone leaking with exasperation.

Clarisse glared at her, rising from her seat only to be stopped by Chiron, "I am making it official that Annabeth Chase will be included as a member to this team, no futher objections should be necessary. Congratulations, Miss Chase." After that, Chiron wheeled from out of the gym, muttering incoherent words under his breath.

"You guys," Rachel spoke suddenly, looking somewhat normal by now, "Can we at least have a vote before you decide that it's OK for Annabeth to knee the remainder of my dinner out of me?"

* * *

**Finished! Hope you guys enjoyed, expect long chapters for this story. I sort of didn't like this chapter, but whatever! Sorry for any OCness, and whatnot. :P Next chapter is Percabeth. Not fluff, though. But some where along the lines of that. . . **

**~Leave a review to make me smile ':)'. Even if it's something random like 'derp'. . .**

**Have an awesome day/night! :D**

**-That Was Such A Face Palm -.\**


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